Joanie’s dream has always
been to give something back. Shubert, the kitty cat love of her life was her
first rescue, and she was bound and determined to make volunteering at the
Saving Furry Lives Shelter part of her reality. Joanie rescues a wolf pup and
it bites her, setting off a chain of events she doesn’t anticipate. Appearances
can be deceiving and some bites are much worse than their bark.

The beeping sound of the machines brought her back to
consciousness. Joanie shifted, annoyed at the scratchiness of the sheets and
batted at an errant strand of hair that had fallen in her face. Her body hurt.
The scent of bleach assaulted her nose and the pain in her foot still throbbed,
a steady prickly feeling that seemed to lurk just beneath her skin.

Something was off. She felt around for Schubert’s familiar
warmth and found him missing. Her body slick with sweat, she groaned as her
head swam from the slight movement.

She’d heard voices earlier. It made it hard to sleep when
they kept coming in and out of the room. The prick of a needle in her arm, the
pressure from hands moving her into a bed. It was all a blur.

Wait.

Beeping.

Scratchy sheets and that weird chemical smell…

Joanie’s eyes popped open and grew wider. Everything was a
blah shade of faded white and dingy beige that might have been something not
the color of used putty once upon a time. Maybe. The only color in the room was
the powder blue curtain that hung from the track in the ceiling between her bed
and the one next door.

Someone was there and by the sound of it, they were sleeping.
The snores got louder and tapered off, only to resume once more. Shifting
beneath the sheets she grimaced at the discomfort thrumming through her body.

A nurse bustled in and, upon seeing her awake, smiled.

“Good. You’re up.” Her badge read “Nina Barticolva” and she
reminded Joanie of one of the Gibson girls the way her cheeks turned round when
she smiled.

Joanie tried to sit but the IV in her arm yanked her back
into a supine position. “Ouch.” The sudden movement made her tired, her head
still woozy from whatever happened to bring her here.

Why couldn’t she remember?

She was out on a rescue mission with Tim… then it all faded
to nothing and, when she tried to bring it back, her head hurt.

“Woo,” Nina winced. “I wouldn’t do that just yet. We’re about
to move you, but the doctor wants to have a look at you first.”

“Um. Okay.” Her head swam.

“I want to get your vitals.” The nurse put the stethoscope
into her ears and placed the cold end of it on Joanie’s chest. Giving her a
nod, she removed the device and looped it around her neck. Pulling a small
device from her pocket, she clipped it on Joanie’s finger. It squeezed over the
end of the digit and Joanie watched the small screen as numbers raced across
it.

“What’s that?”

“I need your body temperature,” Nina replied with a smile.

“Oh.” Joanie’s head was pounding and her skin felt hot all
over. “Why are you moving me…” she started to ask, but the words faded away as
she caught sight of the doctor.

A man in green scrubs came through the door, his presence
taking the air from the room. Joanie gasped, his piercing eyes meeting hers.
The prickling feeling plaguing her ramped up, leaving her hyper aware of the
male as he approached.

Her nose itched and she sneezed, a funny itching sensation
covering her skin.

His chiseled features were strong and his dark eyes held
oceans of blue, like a tempest in a storm. A strand or two of his dark hair
fell down over his forehead and he absently ran his fingers through it to put
it to rights. His muscular frame flexed beneath the scrubs and for a moment she
wondered if he would mind if she reached out and touched him.

“You must be Joanie. Hi. I’m Dr. Buchanan.” His full lips
turned up in a smile.

A burst of heat
slammed into her gut and she moaned aloud. An internal image of a female wolf
reared her head, taking notice of the doctor in a big way. She was separate
from Joanie, but connected to her at the same time, their desires co-mingling.

Mortified, she
clapped her free hand to her mouth and lowered her head.

Want.

What the hell was that?

Excerpt 2

“Damn it.” Sylvia hung up the phone and met the eyes of her
business partner, Paige. Together they had created the Shifting Hearts Dating
Agency and, after many successful pairings, she hated having a fail on the
radar.

“What?” Paige put her cell phone down on the desk and cocked
her head.

“Dr. Buchanan left; and I booked Cardiac Café just for him,
too.” Sylvia got up from her desk and paced in front of the windows. “All those
great milk shakes. It’s a shame.”

“You know, you’re gonna have to break out the Aphrodite
powers with that one. He’s all business and no give.”

“No.” Sylvia shook her head and nibbled on her lip. “I have
a feeling something’s going to change for him.”

“Like what? Find some girl and break her arm so he pays
attention to her for more than five seconds? I mean, did you see him at the
restaurant? All he did was walk around once and then dig into his onion rings
like a starving man. It was unhealthy.”

“You’re just saying that because you wished he looked at you.”
Sylvia laughed. “And those were good onion rings.”

“I don’t know how you can eat that stuff.” Paige sniffed and
held up her perfectly manicured hand. “As a matter of fact, I’m not interested
in dating right now. But, I can also tell you, I’ve seen your boy hanging out
with a couple of regular subs at Ventures.”

“Really?”

“Yup.” Paige grinned. “That boy is kinky as hell. I wouldn’t
be surprised by anything.”

“You just never know. He was so quiet, and never brought it
up on the questionnaire.”

“He was probably embarrassed. Some people like to keep their
lives private.”

“Well, that doesn’t help us match him up with a potential
mate.”

“True.” Her phone buzzed and she looked down, a frown
marring her face. “Turn on the television.”

Sylvia’s eyebrows shot up. “You sure about that?”

“Oh. Yeah. Nevermind.” Paige jumped up from her seat behind
the desk and grabbed for the remote. They had a small television in the waiting
area but, more often than not, it was they who got the most use out of it.

“I killed the last one. Not touching it.”

Paige snorted. “You are a technological curse on wheels,
woman. No electronic gadget will ever be safe.”

“Goddess powers can’t be contained.”

“Watch me.”

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Natalie Erinaceus is a woman on a mission: find her own mate. Enter Shifting Hearts Dating Agency. Lucas runs Scarlet Ink, a tattoo shop across from Ventures, a sexy as hell BDSM club. Jonathan is a bear shifter looking for love. When he finds Lucas, it’s one step in the right direction. He has one mate but can he convince a stubborn hedgie she’s ready to be claimed by not just one mate, but two?

“Paige, where in the hell did you put the password log book?” Sylvia groaned as she flicked on the computer and the logo for the Shifting Hearts Dating Agency flashed across the screen. The agency had been open for six months, growing a little more every day. Their wall of successful matings and marriages increasing making Sylvia eager to check out her newest applicants and see any potential matches. But she always forgot the password. Either that, or Paige was always changing it.

She bet the latter.

Tricky damned cat shifter.

A descendent of Aphrodite, helping others find love was in Sylvia’s blood. Nothing made her happier. One day she’d find her own swoon-worthy prince charming, but at this point…well, she was content helping others. A tinge of sadness slid in and she firmly booted it away. The right person would come along at the right time, not before. This was her job, her chosen career and damned if she wasn’t going to use her power for helping people. With a push if it required it.

But if she saw that damned incubus, Carter, again, she was going to shove his ass clear out the window. Cheating fucker. He’d get his one day. She had people to help and it didn’t do her much good to think about murder before she’d at least had a cup of coffee. A really big cup too.

Everything here in Cypress Valley, Texas ran toward big and she hoped by setting up business here with the growing shifter population, her profits would start to be too. It was all great being descended from Goddess material, but if you didn’t have the dollars to go with the lifestyle, then it wasn’t so much fun anymore. Time to shake her money maker and get some romance in the air.

She got up from the desk, her new heels making her wince. She hobbled over to the kitchenette area in the back of the office and flicked on the overpriced individual cup coffee maker Paige insisted they buy. Her co-partner stood next to the counter, stuffing the better part of a jumbo blueberry muffin into her mouth.

“Now that is one big muffin.”

She held up a finger and kept on chewing.

“Nice salute there, hun. Cat get up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?”

Paige growled around the muffin, her cat shining in her eyes.

“Ewwww. Somebody is grumpy today.” Sylvia rolled her eyes and shook her head. Coffee. Lots of coffee. Then she’d deliberate about food. And passwords. She eyed the flavored pods with distrust, knowing Paige was watching, and selected one that read Hazelnut. She popped it into place like Paige had shown her and hit the start button. A dribble of brown liquid began to flow from the machine and too late she remembered she hadn’t placed a cup below the spigot.

“Shit!” Sylvia scrambled and reached for the nearest mug, shoving it in place. The scalding hot liquid poured over her hand and she let out a yowl.

A choked laugh from across the kitchenette met her ears.

Still munching on her muffin with an innocent smile on her face, Paige grinned and gave a pinky wave.

Bitch. At least that was an improvement over the last finger, she supposed.

Sylvia gazed at her friend with narrowed eyes and ran her hand under the faucet. “That wasn’t nice.”

“Sorry. But you made me almost inhale that one.” Paige snorted into her hand and popped the last of the muffin into her mouth. Not afraid of sporting her brunette curves, Paige was a kitty to be reckoned with, whether it was man or muffin…or modern appliance.

“Ugh.” Sylvia snatched up her cup and marched back to her desk, irritation prickling under her skin. New machines wigged her out. So did computers and newfangled cars. If she got too excited, her goddess tendencies could have adverse side effects to the point where Paige teased her that she must be related to Harry Dresden. At her blank look, she’d sighed and flicked something up on her phone, twisting it so Sylvia could see. “You know. The Dresden Files?” A picture of a book cover covered the screen.

She’d had no earthly idea what her friend was talking about. If it didn’t have vampires or a hot scantily clad shifter, she didn’t bother.

“You need to read more than just smut, girl.”

“Yeah…yeah.”

But what was the point to that?

“Sorry, Syl. The password book’s in the drawer where I always leave it.” Paige maneuvered her way to the desk on heels so high Sylvia didn’t know how she didn’t fall on her impeccably made up face. “And unless you plan on sticking your mouth underneath the pour nozzle, I’d have a cup ready next time.”

“Ha ha.”

Her friend’s blazer and top worked well with the jeans and boots she’d selected for the day. It was raining and knowing her cat shifter partner, she’d rather be curled up in her bed with a pile of blankets than be out and about.

Paige clutched an oversize cup of coffee like it was her lifeline, pausing mid-stride to take a sip. The rest of her may have been spot on but her bleary eyes told a story. Sylvia wasn’t sure she really wanted to ask.

“You okay?”

“Yep.” Paige set the cup down, the milky brown liquid sloshing dangerously close to the rim. “Tried out a new venue last night and I think I found us a whole new segment of the shifter population.”

“Really?” Sylvia grinned, “And where did you go, pray tell?”

Paige glanced around, nibbling her lip. “Is Rafe here?”

“Nope. I haven’t seen your brother yet. Why?”

“Good.” A flash of cat in Paige’s eyes revealed her excitement. “I went to Ventures.”

Sylvia wrinkled her nose. “Where?”

“The new bondage club on Fifth Street. It caters to humans, shifters, and other paranormals.” A smile lit up her eyes and she reached for the coffee again, sitting down with a wince. “They had a kind of open house event and I wanted to check it out to see if there was any potential for us to join forces.”

“And?”

Paige focused on her cup, a secret smile on her lips.

“Did you hurt yourself?”

“Not exactly.”

Sylvia blinked. Oh….So that was how it was.

“So you think we’ll get some clients?”

Paige fidgeted in her chair and fired up her own computer. “You just wait, girlfriend. I have a feeling before the day is out we’ll be seeing something new coming across our desk. Now, where did you put the file on the Jefferson twins? I think I met someone that could give them a run for their money.”

About the author:

Erzabet Bishop is a USA Today bestselling author who loves to write naughty stories. She is the author of Lipstick, Crave, Malediction, Map of Bones, Sanguine Shadows, Arcane (Prowlers and Growlers set),The Science of Lust, Wicked for You, Heart’s Protector, Burning for You, Taming the Beast, Mistletoe Kisses, Surrender, Torment (upcoming), Hedging Her Bets, Cat’s Got Her Tongue (upcoming), Waking Up Wolf, Arcane Imaginarium: Spirit Board, Holidays in Hell, Mallory’s Mark, The Devil’s Due (upcoming), Charity Benshaw’s Enchanted Paddle Emporium (upcoming), Club Beam, Pomegranate, A Red Dress for Christmas, The Black Magic Café, Sweet Seductions, The Erotic Pagans Series: Beltane Fires, Samhain Shadows and Yuletide Temptation along with being a contributor to many anthologies. She lives in Texas with her husband, furry children and can often be found lurking in local bookstores. She loves to bake, make naughty crochet projects and watch monster movies.